India beats Pakistan by 61 runs in marquee group game at T20 World Cup. No handshakes again

By Canadian Press on February 15, 2026.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — India and Pakistan players declined to shake hands before and after the highly-charged group game between the archrivals at cricket’s Twenty20 World Cup. India won it by 61 runs on Sunday to secure its place in the next stage.

India opener Ishan Kishan scored 77 off 40 deliveries in a match that only went ahead at Colombo after Pakistan reversed its decision to boycott.

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and India captain Suryakumar Yadav didn’t shake hands at the pre-game toss of the coin, extending a freeze that started at last year’s acrimonious Asian Cup. Players there refused to shake hands during a tournament that took place amid diplomatic and military tensions between the neighboring countries.

India posted 175-7 on a sticky pitch at R. Premadasa Stadium and dismissed Pakistan for 114 in 18 overs. Despite the heavy defeat, Pakistan can still advance from Group A.

Early setback for India

Agha’s decision to bowl first surprised many because the ground has a history of not favoring run chases.

“Our bowlers didn’t bowl well according to the situation and when it came to batting we didn’t apply ourselves, they didn’t give us a chance to go deep in the game,” Agha said.

It wasn’t all one-way. India’s innings had an early setback when its most aggressive batter, Abhishek Sharma, was dismissed without scoring. Agha bowled the first over with four dot balls and had Sharma caught by Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Kishan got India going with a six and a boundary in the following over and he dominated an 87-run stand for the second wicket with Tilak Varma.

He blazed three sixes and 10 boundaries before being bowled by off spinner Saim Ayub.

Ayub took two wickets in his last over to finish with his career-best T20I bowling of 3-25.

Yadav (32) and Shivam Dube (27) made useful contributions for India.

Poor start for Pakistan’s chase

Seam bowler Hardik Pandya gave India an ideal start with a wicket-maiden to start, dismissing Sahibzada Farhan with the fourth delivery of the innings.

Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets in the next over to have Pakistan reeling at 13-3 and spinner Axar Patel bowled Babar Azam (5) in the fifth over to leave Pakistan 34-4.

Usman Khan resisted with a 34-ball 44 but was stumped when he stepped out to hit Patel.

We’ll meet again?

Agha said his Pakistan lineup must now focus on securing its place in the last eight.

Second-place U.S. and third-place Pakistan have four points each in Group A but Pakistan still has a game in hand against Namibia, which is 0-3 so far.

“You have to see the bigger picture,” Agha said, “we need to win that game and qualify … and then a new tournament starts.”

India and Pakistan could meet again in the semifinals or final. That game would also be played in Sri Lanka, which is co-hosting the tournament with India.

Focus on Colombo

Leading into the Colombo match, Agha said it was up to the Indian players to decide whether or not they’d revive the pre- and post-match handshakes that are customary in international cricket.

Yadav, for his part, had been non-committal.

Pakistan’s government considered withdrawing its team from Sunday’s match after the International Cricket Council kicked Bangladesh out of the World Cup for refusing to play matches in India, citing security concerns.

Pakistan only agreed to play after intense discussions with the ICC.

Political and military tensions have meant the two teams have not played a bilateral series for years, and that has given elevated status to their games at ICC events.

India has not traveled to Pakistan since 2008 and Pakistan visited India for the 50-over World Cup in 2023, but has since played ICC tournaments at neutral venues.

India has won 13 of the 17 T20 internationals contested against Pakistan.

West Indies advances, US keeps hopes alive

In Mumbai, West Indies notched its third successive win in Group C when it thumped Nepal by nine wickets and qualified for the Super 8 stage.

West Indies had already beaten Scotland and England.

Nepal opened the tournament with a narrow loss to England, but is out of contention following heavy defeats to Italy and West Indies.

Fast bowler Jason Holder returned 4-27 and restricted Nepal to 133-8. Shai Hope then smashed an unbeaten 61 off 44 balls and Shimron Hetmyer scored 46 as West Indies cruised to 134-1 in 15.2 overs.

Sanjay Krishnamurthi kept American hopes of Super 8 qualification alive with a maiden T20I half-century – 68 not out off 33 balls – in the 31-run victory over Namibia.

Skipper Monank Patel scored 52 off 30 balls as the U.S. notched its tournament highest score – 199-4 in 20 overs. Namibia was restricted to 168-6 in reply.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Krishan Francis, The Associated Press